Warriors and Wolves
by purplestreakedcupcake
Summary: Arianne has many secrets, including her life before the day she was found in the north. Regardless of this Jon Snow can't help but trust her and and want to see her, especially now that Stannis Baratheon has appeared at the wall. No one can for see the future as the fight for the Iron Throne comes to an end. Jon Snow just might need a warrior at his side, in more ways than one.
1. Chapter 1

_Faster. Faster. Faster._ She ran, dodging trees. The snow had no pity for her cause, and only added stress to her journey. In her arms, a whimpering grey wolf puppy, badly injured. Over her shoulder, a red shibu inu pup from her bag sticks her head out. Behind her, followed the voices of angry voices of men who chase her. They were no doubt closing in on her. While speed was her usual lifestyle, an injured leg never helped anyone.

In the distance, she could see smoke rising into the tree tops. If she only make it there, then maybe, just maybe, it could be her savior.

_Just over the hill…._

A low grumble started as she neared the top of the hill. She assumed it was Shibu, her loyal dog. But as she near the top of the hill, she ran almost straight into the face of a very angry, red eyed wolf. Fear overcame her, freezing her right in her tracks. She could hear the men getting closer, but watching the wolf's lip tremble as he growled would not let her move.

"Please, all I want to do is help him." She pleaded, not that the wolf could understand her.

The men were approaching, only several yards away now. The wolf looked down into her eyes, then leaped over her head. The sudden movement made her drop in fear, her life flashing before her eyes. But as she wanted to scream, she could hear the shrieks of men and the snarls of the wolf.

"Ghost!" A voice hollered

She hesitantly looked up and saw before her a man dressed in black with a fur cloaked upon his shoulder's.

"That's enough."

The baby wolf in her arms whimpered, trying to shuffle in her arms. Ghost appeared beside her, his mouth red with blood. "Thank you" she said

"Ghost has a soft spot for other wolves it seems." The man said, nodding toward to the pup in her arms. "Why were those men after you?"

"Lets just say stealing the injured wolf may not be my only crime." Shibu wiggled free from the bag, jumping to the ground and shaking himself. She rubbed Shibu on the head. "You have quite the animal. What's your name?"

"Jon."

"Arianne." She introduced herself, " This is Shibu. And this is refugee for now. Would you be so kind as to help? He's injured pretty badly."

Jon looked torn, but after a moment looked at her and agreed. "Come on then."

Arianne stood up, but as she tried to step forward she only collapsed instead. The wolf pup rolled out of her arms as she caught herself. As her adrenaline had vanished, her aching muscles had come to life.

"Your leg is in very bad shape. You've had one hell of a journey."

"I'm aware." She almost laughed

"Come on then. I'll help you."


	2. Chapter 2

Jon carried Ariane on his back. Ghost carried the young pup in his mouth like it was his own young and Shibu trotted along gleefully beside them. He walked through the snow with ease, she admired. As they approached a break in the trees, she could see the cause of the smoke.

"I hope I'm not much trouble." She asked staring at the small village before them. The village seemed very dark and small, especially compared to the great wall of ice that layed behind it. The most amazing thing, of course, was the long wooden trail up the side of the wall that seemed to move. Arianne had never seen such a thing in her many nameday celebrations.

Jon brought her to a structure towards the center of the small village. He kicked at the door, causing it to hit the wall behind it with a loud slam.

"Sam!" he yelled. The room was nearly empty with only one other person sitting in the corner who quickly left after the intrusion. The fire was barely holding on.

From a room in the back came running a bigger sized man, with an even more petite girl than Ariannne looking from the doorway. "Help me with this gash."

Jon set Arianne down on one of the tables tearing away her torn pant leg. Until now, she had realized just how bad her injury was, or how bad she was bleeding.

The girl from the doorway ran up to her, gently but hurrying to wipe away blood. Arianne grasped and pulled her leg back in pain, but the girl simply pulled it back. Sam brought a serious of wrappings. When he received an ok from the girl, he started at the top of her thigh. He stumbled and turned bright red.

_Never been so close to a girl_ She wanted to laugh.

When Jon lost his patience he took the wrap from Sam and wrapped the wound himself. After tying off at her knee, he started again this time going from the knee down her ankle.

"What happened?" Sam asked

" A bunch of angry men."

"Which you'll be explaining shortly."

Arianne removed the bag from her back and placed it beside her. From inside she pulled out the most magnificent silver handled dagger any of them had seen. They stared in amazement.

"This." She held the dagger out in front of her. "This is why the men were chasing me. You see, this dagger is very precious. Not only an heirloom, but a mystical item. It is rumored to hold very special powers for the rightful owner. It was stolen. So I stole it back. Heirlooms tend to be quite important, you understand."

"You stole that? From a herd of men?" Sam looked as amused as a small child, questions after question forming in his mind.

Jon looked at her, uncertainty written across his face. "Almost got away clean, well, besides the slash across the leg."

"You want me to believe a woman fought off a group of men… for a dagger?"

"They stole it. It's a magical heirloom."

"How'd you do it?" Sam asked in amazement.

Before she could answer, they heard the sounds of men approaching the dinning hall door. Arianne quickly placed the dagger back in her bag and pulled it close to her leg. Stannis Baretheon broke through the doorway, a herd of men around him.

"Well! What festive seem to be partaking in here.?" He boasted.

No one said a word. Stannis stepped forward. Jon stepped closer to Arianne "And who's this lad? Injured I see." He took another step.

Arianne pulled at her cloak, trying to conceal her leg. "Arianne." She answered, "M'lord. " Stannis stepped forward, almost competing for closeness with Jon.

"A woman should not be harmed so fouly. Tell me, where are the men who offended you?"  
"No longer Lord Stannis." Jon spoke.

"You?" Stannis asked but received no answer.

Stannis raised an eyebrow and placed a hand on Jons shoulder. "Well then, consider her in your ward. A gift of… a job well done for your leadership in protecting Castle Black and the Wall from the Wildlings. I'm positive you'll make her feel at home." He laughed, fully aware of his actions and their irony.

"But sir, we have oaths…" Sam started

Jon held a look of disbelief, surprised and confused at Stannis' antics. "Surely a gift from your king breaks all." He laughed. " Now, take her away. My men need to eat.

"What an arrogant ass!" Arianne huffed as Jon set her down in his room. "I'm not a king and will probably die doing so all because some witch said too." She mocked. "She must be a good lay"

Jon was bewildred at her statement, but laughed. "Not used to royals, eh? They're all arrogant bastards." Arianne nodded, but thought back to where she was raised. _Not all._

"I'm sorry to have caused you so much suffering. I truly did not intend this." She said sincerely

"What's done is done."

Shibu yawned loudly, resting next to the fire with Ghost. " He needs a name." Arianna nodded toward the pup.

"Indeed he does. What made you save him?"

She didn't answer right away. When she did her voice was full of sadness. "I knew he boy he originally belong too. He had a whole litter at first. Managed to rid of all besides that one."

"How'd he pass?"

"Wrong place at a very wrong time."

"He was very close to you, I presume."

Jon could very much relate to the sadness in her face. He had no idea just how many sibilings were still alive, or where they were. Sam claimed to have seen Bran in the woods. Arya was missing. Sansa's letter told of her unsafe encounter with her crazy aunt of the Veil. There were rumors of Robb and Catelyn, but no official word, not that he would receive a raven. He wondered if he small boy had been her brother. "Where are you from Arianne." His curiosity getting the best of him.

"Stormlands." She answered hesitantly.

"And your name?"

"A bastard girl."

"Noble?"

"Does it matter? I'm here now. And what of you Jon?"

"Snow. A bastard as well."

Arianne laughed, rubbing away the unfallen tear from the corner of her eye. It seems we have more in common than originally thought."


	3. Chapter 3

In the middle of the night, Jon awoke very suddenly. Sitting up he searched the room. Ghost picked up his head and looked at him. _You're a dummy _Jon realized that buried in Ghost's fur was Arianne. Jon smiled at how peaceful she looked. _So much different than earlier._ Every night had been the same that past week. Arianne would stay up late, scribbling away on parchment. When he woke, she would be sleeping on the floor, curled up into Ghost's fur. Probably trying to avoid the sleeping conflict. Some of the men were jealous of him, others laughed. Stannis and his men received much enjoyment. He had a huge army of men, many of which camped just outside the village, but still remained a nuisance.

Arianne's leg had healed well, like she had laughed it would. But it had left a very nasty scar in its place. _An injury like that could've easily killed a normal man_, Jon thought. There was something very peculiar about her.

Jon picked Arianne off the floor, placing her in the bed and wrapping her in furs for warmth.

When Arianne awoke, the fire was surprisingly still roaring with life. Unsurprisingly, she had awoken, yet again, in Jon's bed with Jon nowhere to be found. Just picturing the smirk on his face made her smile and her heart warm. She tucked her dagger into her waistband, out of sight from any of the watchmen. Arianne pondered where she should travel to next. Her home was not safe. Her only family was no more. She had nothing but secrets and knowledge of things that would only cause more turmoil in the seven kingdoms. But could she stay at the wall? It may have been safe, safer than home but surrounded by thieves and rapist and even killers, all who surely were not kind on the idea of her being Jon Snow's 'Ward.' If she had to be completely honest, there was something about Jon Snow…. _No no. _She told herself, _he swore an oath, not that anyone pays attention._

She ran into Jon at the courtyard, practicing sparing with another lad. Arianne admired Jon, his sword handling, the way he moved as he fought, the way his hair… _No No NO! Stop it Arianne. He is off limits. _ She couldn't help but smile.

"May I cut in?" She asked

"There is no dancing here woman." Replied Jon's opponent, the boys laughed.

"No. No. I want to fight. Scared of a girl beating you?"

All the boys stared at her. Jon held a look of disbelief but was failing at trying to not laugh as well. His current opponent saw her banter as an opportunity. He knew he could not defeat Jon Snow but a woman? He could defeat a woman. "I won't go easy on you."

"I wouldn't want you to."

Jon stepped out of the way, leaning against a post next to Sam. Arianne took her place, grabbing the dagger from her side. The guy smirked, his ego already getting the best of him. He charged, readying his arm to swing left to right across her. She hoped out of the way, using her dagger to push his blade away from her body. He spun around, trying again to swing his sword but again and again did he managed to miss.

"She's amazing." Sam admired.

"You are quite right there Sam." In a quieter voice he added: "Watch her feet. See how she never fully steps down? Almost like a dancer." Jon couldn't help but admire her himself. She moved with grace and agility. He smiled.

The boy tried slinging his sword right on top of her, but she was too quick and he found himself with a dagger at the base of his neck. He dropped his sword and put his hands up. The crowd cheered and laughed. "We seem to have a winner!" Jon beckoned, laughing slightly.

Arianne walked over to Jon and Sam, excitement of victory written across her face. "I saw it's time for a victory drink. Shall we?" She offered her arm. Jon looped his arm through hers to escort her.

"I suppose a drink wouldn't hurt." Jon smirked.

"You fought very marvelously Arianne."

"Thank you Sam."

Arianne stomped up the stairs towards Jon's chambers, her clothes swish of moisture and her shoes leaving faint prints after her. Her clothes drenched from a cowards embarrassment and angry. She was so unbelievably angry; Sam could only stop her from killing the man due to his bigger size. If she had been in her home lands it would not have been so bad. She was used to being wet in the Stormlands, but here in the North, she would easily freeze. _I'll surely become ill from this._

She opened the door to Jon's room, exhausted and ready to take a nap by the fire. As she closed the door behind her, her back was pushed against the door.

"You will tell me everything, right now you witch."  
"Heard some rumors, have we Jon Snow?" Arianne chuckled. Her look turned serious and looked at Jon's eyes. "I'm not a witch. Especially if a witch is what you consider the Red Woman to be. I haven't lied. My name is Arianne, I have no true name from a traditional lineage and so have adopted Storm, the region I lived most frequently growing up. If you're referring to my quickness in my fight this morning, I assure you that is all skill, no magic involved. Now, if you'd please be so kind as to let me go…"

Jon didn't move, nor loosen his grip on Arianne. "What is so magical about your dagger?"

"I can't tell you."

"What do you _mean _can't _tell _me?"

"Because the power is not mine to own." Jon was surprised. "It is yours Jon Snow. Although you are hardly a Snow… or a Stark."

"I am a bastard of the north, of course my name is Snow!"

"Your mother was a Stark. But you, my dear, are a Targaryen."

"How—how could you possibly know such a thing?" Jon loosened his grip on Arianne, who slid down the door until her feet touched the ground.

"I know enough secrets to bring down the entire Seven Kingdoms. My job is to be a messenger of the fates, in a sense. I knew the secret of your mother the second Eddard Stark had intentions of telling you and he died. I knew the incest of the Lannisters the second Jon Arryn whispered it from his lips. I know Melissandre's plans for Stannis Baratheon and I knew you'd save Castle Black the second the wildlings planned for war. I know you were suppose to die in three days ago if I so much as decided the fates great plans would be better suited to come true without your existence."

Jon could see the truth in her eyes and the seriousness in her face. His heart beat strong against his chest, hoping for one answer to his next question but scared to hear what Arianne might say.

"And why didn't you choose to kill me?"

"My job is to follow where my heart and mind meet. I couldn't condemn myself to a world that disobeyed both."

Jon moved his face towards Arianne, placing his hands on her hips and pushing his lips against hers. Arianne gasped in shock, but kissed him back. She wrapped one arm around his and her other hand alongside his check. Jon dug his fingers into her side.

He pulled back suddenly, "Why are you so wet?"

"Do you really want to know?" She asked quietly, stunned at what had just happened.

Jon sighed, almost wanting to laugh. "No I guess not." He unclasped his fur clock from his shoulders. "We need to get you warm before you surely get sick. Take off your clothes so we can get them dry."

"You want me to remove my clothes Jon Snow?" She asked slyly, stepping away from the door. Jon's face turned red. He held up the clock over eye level.

"Only unless you want to freeze to death."

She sighed, "Fine. But don't look or I'm removing body parts." She slowly removed her wet clothes until she was just in her undergarments. Once done, she walked over to Jon, turning her back to him and pulling the cloak out of his hands one at a time and wrapping it around herself tightly. "Happy now?"

His face was bright red. Arianne enjoyed every second of its amusement. "Into bed, I don't want you getting sick."

Arianne obeyed, crawling into bed and adjusting the cloak around her once she had pulled the blankets. She watched Jon drape her clothes over the fireplace wall so that her clothes could dry. Arianne could see Jon pondering all the information she told him in his head, the look on his face of mixed emotion. She almost felt bad for burdening Jon with that much information. It was a lot to take in, she knew. But she almost felt relief, having to get at least something off her chest. Ever since her eleventh birthday she had been cursed to take on the burden of her life's purpose. She felt like a goddess imprisoned in a faraway land, doomed to live a life by someone else's terms. But Arianne knew things were only going to get better before they got worse.

"So what's next?" He asked, turning his head to the side to look at her. She wasn't sure if it was bad timing or the way that he looked at her that made her shiver.

"I set up for the end of war of the 5 Kings." She sighed. A mission she's dreaded. Jon sighed, looking as exhausted as the knowledge usually left Arianne. He added another few logs to the fire and walked towards the bed. He laid down on the bed next to Arianne. She looked at him, trying to stop her face from matching his previous red face.

"You're freezing." He said using one arm to pull her close to him. "You really aren't used to the cold are you?"

"When the rains stop the hot air is sure to dry the lands quickly. There is no getting sick if you are raised in the Stormlands." She smiled, feeling the heat coming off Jon's body. "You really must be part wolf to be this warm."


	4. Chapter 4

After a long day of pushing her leg, trying to regain the muscle she once had, Arianne was more than tired. She was tired of feeling she was wasting her time, tired of the snow, the cold, the waiting, and most importantly, she was tired of Jon Snow. He had spent the week avoiding her. She only saw glimpses of him, sometimes training, occasionally in the dining hall, but never, it seemed, in their shared quarters. In three days time, the next part of her assignment would have to begin. As much as she hated to say it, she needed Jon Snow's help moving forward. The fates had surely been playing with her, laughing.

She reached Jon's door, quietly letting herself in and closing the door behind her. There he was. Jon Snow. He was sitting at the edge of his bed, his head resting on his hands while he stared into the fire. She stepped forward to the table, and pushing it against the door. The noise made Jon finally look at her.

"You can't avoid me forever." She spoke quietly.

"And a table will stop me from leaving?" His emotions had been hard to read. He seemed to always be lost in another world behind those eyes of his. A mysterious world she wished could pull out of him and bring back the life in his eyes Arianne was positive had existed once.

Neither had said a word as Arianne stepped closer to him. He shifted as she neared, sitting up more. Arianne grabbed a chair and swung it around in her hand, sitting in it backwards not far from Jon's legs.

"The Watch didn't always have oaths, you know. Once upon a time they too also took wives. For awhile bearing their own sons was one of the only ways to… replenish their own." She said, choosing her last words wisely.

He stood, ready to leave. "I can't be with you Arianne."

"I'm not asking you to." He stepped around her walking towards the door. "But if you want to save the last of your family and have this treacherous war be over with for good, I am asking you to come with me."

"You want me to leave the Nights Watch?" He asked purely shocked. "To abandon my post?" His voice turned angry, "To forget my oath? The Nights Watch is not some silly joke Arianne. I will not simply walk away from my duty. They would have me hung as a traitor."

Arianne stood to face him. "By this time tomorrow Stannis Baratheon will leave Castle Black. In three days time your sister Arya will reach The Neck. Shibu and Grey will reach her by then. If we leave in the morning we can get to her before she's found by the Kingsguard, or worse."

Jon stared at her in disbelief, wondering if the words she spoke could possibly be true. She had, of course, revealed her identity as a 'messenger of fates', but for all he knew she had simply been crazy. Not even with the Old Gods had there been any sort of story of people being assigned task by the gods. But Jon had to wonder how it was she could know about Arya, or how Arianne of all people could end the War of Five Kings. "How."

She didn't answer at first, not sure how to proceed. But Arianne knew she would not receive Jon's trust so easily. "I once told you I was a messenger. There are a few of us. We all work towards one mission right now." She stepped toward Jon, gently places a hand on his chest.

"Jon you are destined for greatness. Leaving here can literally change the entire world as we know it. You have to power to make it better. But that means leaving the wall where you will surely die if you stay. Jon you are about honor, the one thing this world needs. Thousands of lives could be saved. You just need to trust me."

His face softened. He placed a hand on top of hers, but didn't immediately remove it. Jon wanted to believe in Arianne, hell, he would probably follow her to the ends of the world if he had no vows. She was right though, he was raised to have honor. Honor was what was currently leaving him torn. He wanted to honor his vows and stay at the wall, but Jon had missed the chance to fight alongside his brother Robb. _Just maybe, _he thought, _just maybe he could have saved him. _There was no use dreading over the past, Jon knew. But maybe he could make it up to the Stark name and save the last few members of his family. Didn't he owe them that? Didn't he have honor to the Starks as well? Even if he decided to leave the Nights Watch, how could he even manage it without being hung as a traitor?

A quiet knock echoed from the door. Jon let go of Arianne's hand and slide the table over enough to open the door. Sam stuck his head through the door. "Message for Arianne, _from the King" _he whispered the last part.

"He is not yet a King, Sam."

"Well, closest to the real thing tho, aint he? With the other Lord's dying n such."

"Good night Sam." Jon said starting to close the door.

"But Jon…" He voice trailed off as the door closed. Jon looked at the letter in his hands, slowly turning and giving it to Arianne.

"Apparently you have a fan."

Arianne said nothing, but took the letter in her hand and cutting the seal open. She said nothing as she read, but Jon could see her eyes start to glow from the fire from how big they seemed to grow. A small smirk grew on her face and when she looked up at Jon her expression had become fierce and full of victory. She had something devious planned, Jon knew from her look. He was almost too enticed by her expression to not fully hear the words that followed.

"Stannis has agreed to help. He brags that he has so many men to take Kings Landing that surely if he lost a few it would be at least some fight for his throne. He has agreed, it seems, to not only leave some men behind here at the wall, but to send some men down to Winterfell."

"Winterfell?" Jon was surprised. "Why Winterfell?"

"The Greyjoys claimed Winterfell as their own. Stannis has agreed to place some men to protect the Starks as they return and get it back on its feet for whoever still remains there. Jon, this is why you must come with me." She paused, her face turning sincere. "We must get a Stark back to Winterfell to protect the north. The Greyjoys and Boltons will surely come for your fathers old seat. If they do there is no saying what will happen to your sisters."

Jon sighed. "When do we leave?"

Arianne smiled, not out of victory but for pure admiration of Jon. "Morning."


	5. Saving Arya

Arya listened to the water running down the river next to her, bouncing off the rocks as it traveled. She listened in hopes to hear any sign of life in the river after her failed fishing expedition. Her stomach growled but she ignored its calls, just staring off into the sky instead. The grass crunched near her, _must be the horse_ she thought. But just seconds later she heard another, then another and finally a crunch of a twig. She sat up quickly, reaching for needle. As she turned her head around she saw nothing near her but fields. _Maybe I'm just crazy_ she thought, but then she heard it again. Her eyes darted across the little river next to her. She could just make out black eyes gently surrounded by the red fur that was just barely visible in the tree line. The animal stepped out of its hiding place, eyes locked onto Arya's. She held its breath. Was it going to attack her?

As the animal cleared the tree line Arya could see a fish dangling out of its mouth. Still starring at Arya, the dog gently set the fish down on the ground. He almost seemed to nod at Arya before taking a step back and laying down, his nose tucked between the end of his legs. Arya stood, confused but letting her hunger getting the best of her, decided to hop the few stones that made a path across the river. As she approached the dog, he made no movement, just simply watched her with his eyes. She reached over and grabbed the fish, watching the dog for any movement. More rustling came from the trees, and a small grey wolf emerged from the woods next to the red dog. He was younger, she could tell, but easily just as big as the red dog. He quickly sat next to the other one. But instead of laying down he picked up his paw and moved it towards her and back again. Arya gulped. She stepped forward another step and could see there was something tucked into his neck. The grey wolf whined.

Carefully grabbing the item, Arya quickly realized it was a letter in his mane. _That's odd_ she thought. No other animal was known to carry messages besides ravens. There was no seal, but instead the letter was simply rolled and tied with string. She quickly removed the string and unwound the parchment.

_Young Warrior, what you seek is accomplishable. Follow your leads and you surely find yourself on the right path_

"Follow your leads?" She said out loud, confused. "Is that you?" Both dogs rose, and seemed to nod their heads as to bow.

"How will two dogs lead me anywhere?" She asked, but without a seconds pause the red dog easily pounced across the river, looked back at her and gently howled. Arya looked at the grey wolf who just seemed to look back at her. A small whimper escaped his lips, stepping forward and running his head under Arya's hand. She ruffled his fur between his ears. _A new journey it is then._

Jon had been used to nothing. For days he simply peered over the wall with nothing to show for it. He had made a week long journey to the wall with no complaints. But there was just something about riding a horse back south that had made him so bored he couldn't help but yawn. It hadn't helped that Arianne had spoken no words about what was to come in the next few days. Actually, she oddly had no spoken at all. There had been a few moments where she had halted her horse and Jon had thought she would say _something_. But instead she had simply closed her eyes, as if listening to the wind and the carried on her way. The night before they had left she had told of Stannis's help but nothing of what would actually take place on their journey. Jon had almost wished for the talkative Arianne, even if it meant shaking his head at her bragging about fights.

Jon had almost also wished Arianne would take a break from riding. They had barely stopped long enough to let their horses rest and feed. It was almost dusk when Arianne did stop. She quickly pulled herself off her horse, tying him to a low branch of a near by tree.

"Shall we rest here?"

"You actually want to stop?" Jon almost laughed.

"We are making good time. I'm sure the horses would like a good break."

"No break for you though, if you could?"

"I don't like sitting idle. Bad things happen when you stay put too long." Her voice turned serious and she looked away, picking up any sticks that layed nearby. She snickered. "Come on then, help me build a fire Snow."

Jon simply shook his head at her constantly changing attitude. "Yes m'lady." He mocked.

Once they had enough wood for a decent sized fire, Jon sat in defeat. "Have any tricks for starting a fire by any chance?"

"I do." She answered. She crouched next to the pile of sticks, placing one closed hand at her lips and taking a deep breath in. Arianne breathe through her closed and sparks seemed to fly from the other end. With a gush of wind, a fire engulfed the pile of sticks. Jon, in surprise and very wide eyed, almost jumped back a few feet.

"What was that!?" He gasped, shocked.

She seemed to sigh, and then looked at Jon. Laughing she answered. "Magic my dear. I told you once I was of the Fates. Sometimes we need a little… _help_ on our journeys."

Before he could answer, she was up on her feet walking toward to horse. From one of the packs she removed what looked like a few flask. She tossed Jon one and sat close to the fire. "Drink up. It'll be awhile before the world will feel this relaxed again."

Jon thought about asking her what she meant, but her tone had grown serious again and that was never a good opportunity to talk more. Instead, he drank from the flask, surprised to find a delicious wine inside. The warmth was refreshing to Jon, who had spent so long in the cold, the smell brought back pleasant memories of Winterfell. He wished to be back there with Robb, Bran, and Arya, back before King Robert showed up and sent the Starks down a dark spiral. Robb had already passed, but if he could save Bran and Arya, he would give up everything to do so.

"Tell me Jon Snow," Arianne said, suddenly sitting next to him. "Why are you such a hard man to read?"

Jon was taken back by this. It had been a very peculiar question indeed, but Jon had to wonder where Arianne would lead her next question too. If Jon had learned anything about Arianne, it was simply that she did everything for a very particular purpose. Such so, he wondered if she had planned to be so far north by the time her injured leg had worn out the day the met. But he had also wondered at the moment what she meant by such a strange question.

Instead he gave her a questioning look.

"I can tell which men in a room want me before I step into the room and look upon them with my eyes."She bragged and looked at him. "But you, you are hard to read. Your eyes are like tumbling clouds, you never seem to really look at anything like you live inside that head of yours. Always silent." Her voice seem to slowly dip. He watched her face, trying to wish away the pink from his face. Jon had never realized that Arianne payed him that much attention. He watched her eyes slowly look off into the distance past the fire, becoming motionless. It almost scared him.

"Arianne?" She took another second, but when she finally moved she did so hurriedly. Arianne almost hopped into his lap, unclasping his signature Nights Watch fur cloak and tossing it towards the trees out of sight. "What-?"

"Shut up you idiot." She whispery scolded him. "Just hold me."

Arianne placed both hands on either side of his face and pushing her lips down onto his. Jon sat up, regaining his posture to hold them steady, one arm wrapping around her and his other hand on her side. He could hear the tapping of horses hooves against the ground not far from them, getting louder as they got closer. A group of them. They stopped just short of where their fire stood.

"A pair of lovers, we have eh?" The men laughed.

Arianne pulled her face back, a look of defeat across her face. When she opened her eyes, Jon could see plans drafting behind her eyes. "Come on now, show us your face."

Jon pulled Arianne up and held her close to him. He looked at the group before them. Two of them held torches. They were dirty, with even worse clothes and a lot of bags. Thieves. One climbed off his horse and walked toward them, presumably their leader. Jon could feel Arianne grasp the hilt of his sword and reached around for hers, glad that she not only wore her cloak but that her sword swung more behind her than at her side.

"Can we help you?" He asked.

The thief smirked, "Perhaps, you see, we are just a lone group of men trying to make it by, we would be very appreciative if you had anything to give. Your food, your horses…"

"Your woman." Another thief laughed. "It's been quite awhile since we've had the fun of a whore."

Arianne tensed up. Not looking anywhere but at Jon's chest. She slowly moved her foot back.

The leader stepped closer. "Ah yes, I'd love the company of your woman tonight, stir up my own fire if you know what I mean." The boys all laughed.

He stepped closer, his men followed suit now off their own horses. When Arianne had decided he was close enough she pushed away from Jon. At once she turned and stepped toward the thief, pulling Jons sword out of his hoster. Jon held onto Arianne sword, and as she stepped away let it naturally fall from her side. She sliced the sword to her right, cleanly removing the thief's head from where he stood. Jon rushed forward taking a swipe at another thief who was brave enough to raise a sword. Two of the other thieves charged but had not long. Arianne dodged the first one sword but inches and swung her arm back at him. She kicked back at the second one but was grabbed by the first one. He trapped her arm at her side. Arianne leaned over trying to throw her weight in either direction to throw him off balanced. Jon stabbed him through the ribs, letting go Arianne as he fell. Arianne got the last one through the heart as he had turned to ran. The two light bearers raced off into the darkness.

"What did I tell you Snow? You stay still too long there is bound to be trouble."

Jon laughed through his heavy breathing.


End file.
